Bargains to be had... (General Comments on Computer Fairs)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	General Comments on Computer Fairs
Date:	11/05/01 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap components to be found, Some knowledgeable traders, Great selection all in one place

Disadvantages: Some dishonest traders, Have to pay to get in, Potential difficulty in exchanging non-working items

...but a lot of obsolete/non working/stolen stuff to be had too.

Computer Fairs can be rather dangerous places for the naive shopper. I've been to a great many of these events now, and it is sometimes painfully obvious that certain traders are up to no good. I can recall more than one instance of stalls being raided for selling stolen/pirated software, and I suspect that a fair amount of the hardware on sale at some fairs also conveniently floated out of a window or fell off the back of a lorry.

Having said all that, most traders at computer fairs are decent, respectable business people offering friendly, intelligent service and a range of components at prices that can be substantially lower than on your high street.

The type of stalls at Computer Fairs tend to be many and varied. There are stalls selling components, some selling complete systems, some a combination of those two. There are also stores selling software, some specialising in monitors, some that just sell cables! oh, and there's also the obligatory guy selling 5 1/2" disk drives and 486 chips!

Computer Fairs probably aren't the best place to buy full systems - because they're frequently overpriced and underspecified. However you can probably save about £150-200 on the components for a top spec system if you shop wisely.

When buying components at Computer Fairs, it's important to remember that you're not in a retail shop, and therefore you should try and bargain and haggle with the traders to get the best price. You should also be aware that most traders will price-match, so don't buy the item off of the first stall you see it on. Take a look around the whole fair if you can (some are too large for this, but most aren't!) Take a note of the prices, and then return to one of the stalls offering the item at a higher price and inform them that you've seen it on another stall at a lower price. Chances are they'll beat
that price...

Beware of anyone who appears not to know anything about computers. Chances are that anyone with no knowledge of what he/she is selling will have acquired it by unlawful means... especially if they are selling unboxed items. Be especially careful of unboxed monitors, printers etc. They will be second hand at best and nicked at worst...

*ALWAYS* get a receipt for any items bought and if possible pay by credit card. Most traders will have facilities to take credit card payments. If they do not, then pay by cheque as you will always have the chance to cancel payment if the items turn out to be defective.

Also, try only to buy from traders that frequent that fair. If you attend regularly, then you'll notice who is there each time.

As far as buying obsolete, second user equipment goes - be aware that you are taking a gamble. It's often worth taking a speculative risk with second hand bits and bobs as they are so cheap. 50p for a P133 chip? not cutting edge, but it'll do for a little WP box or similar applications. You just have to be aware that these cheap bits come without guarantee more often than not, so you'd be best off scooping up a handful and expecting less than one in ten to work...

Overall, Computer Fairs are a great place to shop or just get advice and there definitely are great bargains to be found.

You just need to keep your wits about you, as not everyone is as honest as they could be...

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